User blog:Bigmcintosh/Growing Pains
TwitterPonies has been growing very, very quickly. In fact, the growth rate we've been experiencing has surprised most of us - we never really expected this silly Twitter-based roleplay about pastel-colored ponies to be very popular. Then I look at the followers on my single account: 382, and growing daily. Admittedly, Big M, not being one of the Mane Six, isn't quite as amazingly popular as, say, Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. Still, when I compare my TwitterPonies account to my real-life Twitter accounts, I'm amazed at just how freaking popular we are. It never once crossed my mind that being open to new Players upon our stage would create the problems it did. Way back in April, Twilight Sparkle and Spike started this roleplay up with three simple things: a post on Ponychan, and two Twitter accounts. From there, we slowly expanded as people on Ponychan ran across the post and claimed both show characters and OCs, and then brought their real-life friends into the fold. So for a time, we could just let people jump right in. No access controls, no mentoring, no auditions. Eventually, around June, we hit critical mass, and the numbers of people wanting to play with us exploded! While there was a smattering of people who were GREAT at this new, to many of us, form of roleplaying, there was a much, much larger number of people who were simply terrible. Bad backstories, insane crossovers, the breaking of the carefully crafted (albiet unspoken) guidelines and rules. At first, we simply came to an agreement on our forums - anyone who didn't meet our standards, which we posted for all to see on the Tumblr account, would just be ignored. Their actions would have no effect on us, and we would respond tothem as little as possible. This was short-sighted though - as more people joined in the clamoring throng, they would interact with people who we had decided to ignore. We tried to steer new people away from these folks, but it became an impossible task. There was just too much going on in a day. Enter the auditioning program and the creation of this wiki. Imperfect, but it worked...sort of. It allowed us to tell people, in an entirely impersonal way, that they were unwanted and unlooked-for. It also allowed us to create a sort of access control. But it wasn't the Brony Way to exclude people. So then, enter the Mentoring system. Spike, generous and self-sacrificing as he is, took it upon himself to help those who had been deemed unacceptable or anathema. Still, the system didn't quite work, and it still felt wrong. I defended it, and the previous system which it supplemented, as the only solution I could come up with. I didn't like it, but I didn't have any better ideas. Again, Spike comes to the rescue with the system we have in place now. It allows us to stem the tide and introduce new people at a trickle, rather than a flood. And it puts 80% of the work on the newbie's shoulders. It's up to the newbie to ask to be a Guest Star, and so on. With that came a return to sanity. The TwitterPonies feed isn't silent, not by a long shot. But it's gone from a mad clamor to a sedate, fun rumble. And...that's what it's really all about. We're here to have fun, and the massive influx of people was making this roleplay be not fun for those of us who have been part of it for longer. I'm still unhappy with ignoring new people, and some of the hoops they have to jump through. It's not a perfect solution, but it's allowed myself and the others to take a step back from being Administrators and get back to having fun. Which, as I said, is what it's all about. Having fun. Category:Blog posts